


Lunch Dates

by Whatevergirl



Category: Superman - All Media Types, Superman Returns (2006)
Genre: M/M, Past Lois/Richard, Relationship breakdown
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-02
Updated: 2015-02-16
Packaged: 2017-12-28 05:42:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/988374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whatevergirl/pseuds/Whatevergirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clark has settled himself back into Metropolis. He works during the day, and spends his spare time saving others as Superman. However, during his lunches he finds himself saving someone who needs him to be not Superman, and not necessarily Clark, but just himself.</p><p>Clark discovers what he already knew: that Richard is a good guy, and a great father. He gets to know what a sweet child Jason is. He realises that the bang on the head Lois received on Luthor's boat may have had a more adverse effect than originally noticed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_I'll just say here that I do not own Superman Returns, or indeed anything of the superman franchise beyond some t-shirts and DVDs._

Richard sighed as he stared at his computer screen. He had to be the only person around feeling bitter that Superman was back. He felt like a dick; Superman was a hero, he had saved the states from getting buried under Luthor’s new continent, if he had understood Lois correctly.

Yet, here he was wondering how things would be if the man had not returned. Lois would still look at him, she’d still notice when he was talking... That was unfair. He and Lois had had some problems since before Superman had returned. He felt he had a lot to live up to, knowing it had been the superhero his fiancée had been in love with before they met. It frequently made him feel inadequate. 

He had certain trust issues in that area; how could Lois love him when he couldn’t show her the world in the same way? However, she was now more likely to forget about him, her mind seemed to have completely left her in other ways too. She was either utterly protective of Jason, not letting him out of her sight, or forgetting about him as well.

He was worried the bang on her head she had received in that boat just three weeks ago had had unseen effects. 

Richard rested his cheek on the edge of his desk, too upset to work but unwilling to face his uncle and admit it. Perry had been unsure about him and Lois from the start, but Richard had blew him off, confident in his own feelings. Now, he realised that Perry may have been concerned about Lois’ side of things, having seen how she was with Superman.

He was taking her to the doctor’s later, to get her checked over. However, the last thing he wanted to hear was that Lois’ disinterest with him came not from an actual problem but from a genuine change in feelings. He was wishing his fiancée had a head injury so he was back to his starting point; he was a dick.

Oddly enough, he thought as he stared at Clark stumbling about the office, he did not blame Superman in the slightest. Richard had spent some time considering how things must be for the alien hero; did he have a home, someone to settle down next to at night? Was Lois the closest thing to a relationship the man had, or was she more of a friend/ fan girl? He had also wondered if he should just step out the way, back off so the man could step in without it being rude. The thought seemed like a good idea in some ways, but it was painful.

Jason was his son. He had raised the boy, had been around since a few weeks before Lois had found out she was pregnant. He knew a number of people in the office thought they had had a one night stand that she had gotten pregnant from, and he had decided to do the noble thing and engage her. It was not true though, they hadn’t had a sexual relationship until nearly 4 months into her pregnancy. It had been awkward, but he loved her and hadn’t cared.

Jason only knew him as his dad, and even if Superman had had a key part in the boy’s creation, as Richard suspected he did, then perhaps he should have stuck around; not hurried away, never to be seen again. Lois wasn't _that_ bad. He really had to get out of here now though, and so he stood up, rubbing his watery eyes and grabbing his jacket.

On his way through the bullpen, Lois didn’t even glance at him but he bumped into Clark, tumbling to the ground as if he had hit a solid wall.

“Oh! Mr... I mean, Richard. I’m sorry.” Richard gave a wry grin and reached out a hand, letting the other man pull him up. At least Clark had stopped calling him Mr. White.

“It’s fine, Clark. Really... Going for lunch?”

“What? Oh, yeah...”

“Mind if I tag along?” He grinned and led the large man out, not really giving him an option.

\---

Clark walked beside Richard White. The man was no longer a happy, confident man. He always seemed so pale these days, his body trembling and his attention elsewhere. Clark had been watching as Lois spent more and more time on the roof, or in her yard, waiting for Superman. Clark had seen how she frequently lost her temper with Richard for being where she wanted Superman.

He should have seen it; he should have done something. Now the little family was wasting away, almost literally; neither of Jason’s parents ate much anymore. Lois spent most of her time staring into the sky, but the rest of it was protectively guarding Jason. Richard was slightly better. He ate small amounts when he fed his son, and he focussed a lot of his attention on Jason, making sure he couldn’t see how badly they were disintegrating. 

And disintegrating they were. Clark frowned slightly, a feeling of guilt bubbling up from inside. Lois had always been interested in Superman; she had always been in love with him. However, she had never seen Clark. She had never paid him the slightest bit of attention, no matter how hard he tried. He loved her, it was true, but he did not want to be with her. Not anymore. He had seen how she had obsessed over Superman, and then had furiously rejected him when Clark had left. She had been kind with Richard, if not exactly loving, but now she treated him as some sort of usurper. 

“In here?”

“Oh, sure.”

He couldn’t be with Lois, Clark thought as he stepped into the diner after Richard, because he had no way of knowing how she would react. He wasn’t just Superman but he wasn’t just Clark. He was not always awkward and clumsy, but he wasn’t always a distant hero. She needed someone who she could accept as who they are, and he had thought she had found it in Richard, but now he realised that may not be true. 

They sat down and picked up menus, neither really looking at each other. Clark wanted to ask if Richard was ok, to ask how things were but he didn’t. There was no need to do so when he could see the man was losing weight, when he knew the man spent time in his office crying. A young waitress came over, giving them a mechanical smile and parroting off the specials, missing menu items and her name. She took their order and headed off to the kitchens.

“I’m sorry.” Said Richard, his beautiful light blue eyes staring sorrowfully up into Clark’s own dark blue ones.

“Wh- What for?”

“I sort of forced you out here, didn’t I?”

“It’s fine.”

“I just want to spend some normal time with someone, you know?”

“Oh, I don’t mind.”

Richard stared hard at Clark for a moment, and the larger man felt as though his soul was being searched right down to the bottom corners.

“Do you mind if I talk at you? I’m trying to get something straight in my head and I have no one to talk to.”

“No one?”

“Lois won’t listen to me anymore. Perry told me right at the very start not to get involved with Lois. I refuse to complain about anything to Jason and I... Well, I used to have other friends, but Lois kind of scared those off years ago.”

“Gee, well of course you can talk to me. I’ll be your friend whenever you need one.”

“Ha!” It was a bitter laugh that didn’t reach his eyes, “well, I’ll thank you for trying. To have no friends... Guess I’m just not as interesting... or friendly as I thought I was.”

The man looked sad, glancing up to give Clark a self-depreciating grin. He had to disagree though. Richard was a friendly guy. He had gone out of his way over the last few weeks to check Clark was settled in and managing ok with working here again.

“I think you are a good person. Don’t get yourself down about it.” He stared confidently at Richard, willing the man to see he was telling the truth. Unfortunately, the startled look Richard gave him made him realise he had used his _Superman_ voice. Regardless, he held his gaze.

“I... Thanks, Clark. It’s nice someone thinks that.”

“I’m not the only one. Many people in the office would agree.”

“Right.” Sighed Richard, putting his head in his hands. Clark sat and watched him, hoping he could accept the truth. “Perry always said it was a bad idea to be with Lois; that I shouldn’t have been there when she was rebounding. Guess he was right.”

“Even if he is, it’s probably best not to tell him so.” Clark joked, trying to make the smaller man smile.

“No, his head’s big enough already.” Richard replied, his eyes weren’t filled with tears, but they were not dry either. The next few minutes passed silently, Richard staring alternatively at his hands and around the restaurant. Clark kept his attention on the man before him.

“Here you go darlings.” Said the waitress as she put their lunch down. 

“Thanks.”

“Anything else? Alright. Enjoy.”

She turned and left, and Clark picked up his warm sandwich. Richard opened his up and squeezed a sachet of mayonnaise into it, then a sachet of ketchup.

“Both?” Asked Clark.

“Mmm hmmm. Jason converted me to this way of sandwich eating last year. I never realised what I was missing out on all this time.”

Clark chuckled as he took a bite of his own. 

\---

Lunch time became a regular thing, and it was something Richard began to look forward to. The only downside was that Clark refused to leave unless Richard had eaten everything, and Richard had actually discovered the other man was quite strong when he had tried to leave after only having a bite and Clark had pulled him back down.

The most frequent topic of conversation outside of the news was Jason. Richard loved being able to brag about his boy and have someone actually listen with interest to what he was saying. Clark was a wonderful audience, nodding and laughing in all the right places.

They avoided the topic of Lois entirely. She was now seeing a psychiatrist, several times a week in fact. Richard was sleeping in the spare room, unable to rest with her nightly grumblings and it hadn’t helped anyone when she woke up screaming at someone unexpected in her bed. Richard had woken up several times to her fists.

She had tablets to take, but so far they hadn’t made much of a difference. She refused to take the night time ones because they knocked her out for a good eight hours and she was still coming into the office every day at nine in the morning. 

Richard was endlessly thankful that Clark found other things to talk about, and that he was fine with sitting quietly when conversation dried up.

“You don’t look like you are sleeping anymore.” Sighed Clark one day. Richard jerked his head up, worried that after the two and a half weeks he had spent being thankful for a lack of a particular conversation, Clark was going to go for it anyway.

“I don’t sleep well there.” he replied softly.

“I only have a small flat, but there is a spare bed in it...” he raised an eyebrow, silently offering it to the handsome man.

“I can’t leave Jason.”

“You are both welcome over whenever you like.”

“Thanks.”

He nodded, but didn’t say anything else. He could tell the man was uncomfortable discussing it. They dropped their money onto the table and left the small diner they now frequented. 

It was starting to get chilly, the autumn air filling the city with cool breezes and people were beginning to wrap up. Richard tilted his head back as they stepped outside though, taking a deep breath. 

“If you like, you can come to the park later on. I’m taking Jason.”

“Oh, y-yeah.”

“Great. And I thought I told you to drop the stutter.” He smirked when he watched Clark’s mouth drop. The man clearly hadn’t expected him to know it was fake. He found it a little irritating though. He was baring his soul to Clark and in response the man was still clinging to the act of being a nervous and clumsy oaf.

“Right. Sorry.” 

“C’mon. We’d better get back before Perry freaks out.”


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks so much for the reviews. They do encourage me to get a move on and write something!_

\---

Clark grinned as he watched Jason chase the birds in the park. He felt a strong fondness for the boy whom Richard clearly loved entirely. The two men were sat in the park because Richard had escaped the house with his son when Lois had another breakdown and had been screaming at her fiancé.

Clark had heard the tail end of the argument, had listened to her accuse Richard of forcing her to stay here, of forcing her away from her other half by drugging her up. Richard had tried to counter that he was forcing her to do nothing; that they had lived happily together for years now, raising a wonderful boy. She had sobbed that Superman couldn’t come to her when she had such firm ties to one place. Clark had listened to Richard whisper an apology for not being Superman, then collect Jason and leave.

It was strange how going to see Lois hadn’t even been an option. He had seen Richard hurry around the corner to the small park, he’d watched the man let his son go play, and he had observed the tears falling down those beautiful cheekbones. He had changed and taken a walk through the park when he _happened_ to come across his friend.

Richard had just pressed his face silently into Clark’s shoulder. Clark had let him. He had wondered if he was supposed to wrap an arm around the smaller man, as he had seen women do when comforting a friend, but Richard’s breathing had returned to normal fairly quickly, so he didn’t bother.

When Richard had sat up and given him an embarrassed smile, Clark had hurried to assure him it was fine. He remembered that he didn’t have to stutter though. Richard preferred him to be as honest as he could about who he was. They had then been distracted by Jason, who had spotted some birds searching in a pile of leaves and was chasing them.

Richard was laughing softly, the love in his eyes clear for all to see. It made Clark’s heart feel lighter to see his friend’s situation was not completely pulling him down.

“He’s doing so much better.”

Richard grinned happily at him, and Clark remembered how much his own parents had worried about him. 

“Thank goodness.” He replied with a gentle smile.

In his mind, he could still hear Lois whispering to him as he had lay in that coma that they had a son together; that Richard was nothing; that he had brought her here so he clearly knew where her heart lay... The memory was bitter sweet; to know this dear boy was his own was beyond anything he had ever dreamed of. However, Richard was the boy’s father; just as much as his Pa was his father. They may not have been biologically related, but it made little difference. Jonathon had raised Clark since he was a small child, and Richard had been Jason’s father since before the boy was even born.

He didn’t even want to consider the idea that Richard wanted Superman to come and play house with Lois. The thought had horrified and confused him until he heard that Richard was making her see a psychiatrist and he realised that in his skim over her body, he hadn’t thoroughly checked all of her brain...

He knew Richard would break if Superman stepped in and started living with Lois and Jason, if Superman took Richard’s place as fiancé and father. Clark could not do that to the man he so liked and respected. Richard acted far more as a friend to Clark than Lois ever had. He would do his best to protect the man’s already over burdened shoulders from all the pain and troubles that he could.

“Da-a-a-d, I want lunch.”

“Already, buddy? It’s not even half eleven yet.”

“Please?” The child shuffled over and pulled himself up into his Father’s lap; neither cared about the leaves that were stuck to the bottom of his shoes. Jason pulled his Dad’s head down to whisper in his ear. “Mommy was angry this morning, so I only ate a little bit.”

“I know.” Richard’s eyes were pained again; hurt that Lois could frighten her own child so much. “As you have been such a good boy while we sort out Mommy’s medicine, how about a treat?”

Jason didn’t say anything, but his eyes lit up and he nodded his head eagerly.

“Should we have Chinese, pizza, a good ol’ burger, or something else?”

“Can we go to that place with the fish, and the squid and stuff?”

“You mean that little Japanese place?”

“Yeah. I want the soup.”

“If you want miso soup, munchkin, then you can have it. Ready, Clark?”

“Yeah.”

They all stood up and Jason grabbed Richard’s hand, then Clark’s and began swinging himself between them.

\---

“The doctors are trying to fix Mommy you know.” Came a small voice beside Clark as he watched Richard amuse the waiting staff with his rusty Japanese.

“I know, buddy.” He looked down at the boy and smiled at him.

“I hope they can soon. She makes Daddy cry.”

“I hope so too.” It made Clark want to cry just thinking about it.

“She hit him yesterday.”

“What?”

Jason nodded sadly at him. “I do still love her, and Daddy says she is behaving bad because she is sick...”

“And she still loves you.” Clark assured him.

“Sometimes. Shouldn’t she be in hospital if she is that sick?”

“She has medicine. Maybe she is waiting to see if it helps first.”

“Will you take her to hospital if it doesn’t? She fights Daddy, but she is always waiting for you.”

Clark stared down in mild shock at the perceptive child. “She isn’t waiting for me.” Not really...

“But you’re Su-”

“Shhh.” He hushed the child quickly. “I know, but she only likes Superman. Not me.”

Jason looked confused, but he plastered a smile on his face quickly. Clark looked up to see Richard heading back over.

“All sorted.” 

“Oh, swell.” Responded Clark, causing Richard to wrinkle his nose up at the old fashioned word Clark couldn’t seem to drop. It made Jason giggle, the fake smile on his face becoming real and he scrambled into his Father’s lap again.

“So, miso soup for Jason, tempura udon for me and I got Clark some octopus.”

“You didn’t.” Laughed Clark, his voice lower than he meant it to be, but he was too comfortable with the two young Whites to care.

“Nah, I got you some Chanko Nabe.” He smirked at Clark before leaning down to whisper conspiratorially into his son’s ear. “It’s what sumo wrestlers eat.”

Jason giggled again, pressing himself happily against Richard’s chest.

“Clark isn’t a wrestler!”

“Are you sure? He’s pretty strong... and he’s tall!”

“You’re taller.”

“Ah, not quite I’m afraid.”

“But you’re my dad.” Jason looked up into Richard’s blue eyes with utter confidence. 

“That I am buddy,” Richard laughed, looking fondly down at the boy in his arms, “but Clark is about five inches taller than me!”

“Oh...” Jason frowned slightly and then gave Clark a glare; as though asking _how dare he be taller than my dad?!_ “Is five inches much?”

“About... that much.” Richard held his hands just over three inches apart. Clark smirked and clasped Richard’s fingers, pulling his hands a little further apart. Richard stuck his tongue out at Clark and called him a spoilsport. Jason giggled again, and gave his Dad a kiss on the cheek.

“Love you, Dad.”

“Love you too, Jason.”

Clark smiled at them both, his heart feeling ready to burst with the warmth he felt looking at the two of them.

“Oh, good. Lunch.” Richard smiled at the waiter and shifted Jason into his own seat.

\---

“What now?” Asked Clark as he watched Richard pick up a dozing five year old.

“I should probably take him home...” sighed the smaller man.

“My offer is still open. If you want somewhere to spend that’s not outside and not your own house for any amount of time...”

Clark had a feeling he had correctly guessed where the reluctance in his friend’s had come from when Richard shot him a grateful look.

“Would you mind? I hate so say it, but I don’t want him around her. She is starting to get a bit...”

“Violent...” Clark finished.

Richard gave him a puzzled glance as they set off to his car. “How did you know?”

“Jason mentioned he had seen her hit you.”

“Oh...” His expression fell, and for a moment it looked as though he might cry. “I didn’t want him to see that. She’s done it a few times.”

“You can’t just take that, Richard.” He spoke in a low, steady voice, desperately hoping Richard would agree.

“It’s just me, I think. She still loves Jason, but I can’t help but worry. She’s almost bi-polar about him.”

“Maybe she needs more... constant care?” He suggested, uncomfortable with the idea that it was necessary, but unwilling to watch his friend suffer.

“You think...”

“Jason was asking earlier why she isn’t in a hospital if she is so sick. I hate to say it, but he probably has a point. It’s just down here.”

“I- I- ... But, it’s Lois! I can’t do that to her.”

“It’s not really though.” He stopped and put both hands on Richard’s shoulders to look into his eyes, though he was careful not to knock Jason. “Richard, would she really treat you or her son like this? I’m sure it is hard, but would she want to be acting like this normally?”

“I- I... No... I don’t know.” Richard’s expressive eyes stared up at him, tears clouding them.

Clark unlocked the door and led him inside and into the spare room so he could put Jason down.

“I could... give her a choice?” Richard turned to look at him once they were in the living room. “I could say she either checks into a hospital until they say she is ok, or I take Jason and leave?”

“What do you think is best?”

“I can’t just leave her.” Richard’s voice cracked, tears starting to fall. 

“You may love her, but if you think she is a danger to yourself and Jason, should you be there?”

“Clark...” And Richard crumpled. Clark caught the man as his sobs shook him.

He couldn’t think of what to say, so when they sank down onto the sofa, he pulled the smaller man into his lap and rocked him gently, mumbling soft platitudes.

It was strange, Clark decided as he waited for his friend to settle, how things turned out. His entire world seemed to have narrowed down to Richard White and Jason White; it was no longer focussed solely on Lois Lane. In fact, Lois had been pushed to the back in favour of the two wonderful people he now had in his apartment. 

It was strange how even though he knew Lois’ current attitude was most probably not completely her fault; he was not attached to her side. He did not feel a need to rescue her, but rather her fiancé and her son.

The trembling had now stopped, and Richard’s breathing had evened out. He had a feeling that the spreading dampness on his shirt came from his friend’s mouth, as opposed to his eyes. Clark dropped a soft kiss into Richard’s soft brown hair and picked him up, carrying him into the main bedroom.

He removed the man’s coat, jumper and shoes before putting him under the covers. Clark took a few moments to watch Richard’s sleeping form, then he turned and left. He might visit his Ma for some advice and maybe an idea of what to make for dinner. He wouldn’t be long.


	3. Chapter 3

Richard stirred as he listened to the sound of early morning life bustling through the city. He couldn’t hear the chorus of birds that usually sat in the trees outside, but he rolled over into Lois’ warmth anyway, trying to settle his mind back into the dream he had been having. The body he hit was solid and wonderfully warm, but it wasn’t Lois.

He lay against it for a moment, still unwilling to open his eyes and join the waking world. It would be Clark. He could remember Clark saying he had a spare room, but nothing about two spare rooms. They must have had to share. As he breathed in the smell of the man, which reminded him oddly of apple pie, he was surprised at how comfortable he was curled up with his friend.

It only took another few moments before Richard realised what had actually woke him up, the sounds of a child making aeroplane noises in another room. Jason was up. The young journalist sat up, rubbed his eyes and stared down at his friend. Clark was lying in a pose very much like Princess Fiona out of Shrek, when she had been waiting for her prince to rescue her. He wondered if Clark would wake up with a touch of Richard’s lips and then he decided he ought to go see his son and let Clark get some rest.

He glanced back though. There was something oddly familiar about that face that wasn’t the friendly reporter he knew...

The young man frowned at his slept in clothing and moved carefully over to the set of drawers that stood against the wall. He crouched down and rooted through for something to wear. He found an old looking t-shirt that wouldn’t drown him, but there were no trousers he would fit into. Recently, he had lost more weight than he probably should have due to a certain amount of stress. Once the old, green top had been pulled on, Richard took a moment to decide he could go around in his boxers for now; they weren’t tight in any way, and he was not comfortable wearing all the same clothes.

“Daddy!” came a happy squeal and the man moved in time to catch the small child who threw himself at his father, confident he would be caught.

“Hey, kiddo.” He pressed a kiss to Jason’s head. “Sleep well?”

“Yeah. I like sleepovers.” His son spoke softly and he smiled up at him.

“Excellent. And do you know what would make this a super sleep over?”

“Waffles!”

“Well, I was gonna say breakfast, but we can see what Clark has in here, huh?”

“Yeah.”

And he was off, pulling open all the cupboards he could reach. Richard chuckled as he searched the few higher up ones.

“Found the fridge.” Called Jason as he pulled out a carton of milk.

“Good work. I’ve found... Aww, pre-made waffles.”

“But I like yours.” He even scuffed the ground with his foot, looking sadly up at his father.

“We’ll let Clark stay over at ours for a sleepover and make our own waffles then, you think?”

“Yep.” This put a smile back on the boy’s face, and he disappeared back into the fridge to look for honey.

“Cool. But these ones for now.”

“Can I help?”

“Well...” Richard carefully took the honey off his son and crouched down in front of him. “You’re gonna have to do a waffle dance.”

“How do you do that?”

“I’ll show you.”

\---

Clark yawned and stretched, feeling very well rested. He had left the apartment when he was sure Richard and Jason were both properly out; he had not done anything major, just a few bits and pieces before visiting his mother for a chat and some dessert.

It hadn’t been until he had gotten back that he realised he had put Richard in his bed, and there was nowhere else to sleep. The large hero had decided to share with the man as he had curled up into a small ball in the corner anyway. It had been very restful.

“You have to get your arms up higher, Dad.” A child’s voice permeated his sleepy haze.

“Higher? I feel like I’m doing a chicken dance here, not a waffle dance.”

Waffle dance? Clark swung his legs out of bed and moved over to his drawers, pulling out some fresh clothing.

“No, it’s good. That is definitely a waffle dance. See? Just like mine!”

“I thought you didn’t know _how_ to do a waffle dance.”

“Well... Ummm... I was testing you, obviously.” 

“Of course. How did I do?” Clark moved through into the kitchen in time to see the two Whites... moving in the middle of the kitchen, arms flapping and knees twisted out as they bobbed up and down. He froze and stared at them.

“Gold star, Daddy!”

Jason flung himself at his father and the man dropped to the floor to meet him, scooping the boy close to his chest. Clark smiled warmly at them.

“Clark? Hey.”

“Hi Richard. Good morning Jason.”

“Hi.” The boy didn’t seem interested in moving himself from Richard’s arms, but Clark couldn’t blame him.

“Clark? I hope you don’t mind, but I borrowed a shirt.”

“Oh it’s fine.” Now that he really looked, he noticed Richard was just in a pair of boxer shorts and an old t-shirt Clark had brought with him from Smallville; it didn’t fit anymore, but it was a sentimental thing. Jason was wearing clean clothes though. “Where did you get Jason’s...?”

“Oh, we never go out without a spare change of clothes for him, just in case.” Richard smiled brightly at him, his happy expression lightly up his features beautifully.

“Right.”

“Good. Now sit down and shut up. I’m making pre-made waffles.”

Jason giggled as Richard smirked and Clark sat himself down at the small, round table he had in the corner. The little boy pulled himself up into the seat next to him.

“Were you out saving people all night?” the child was whispering, his bright eyes alight with a curiosity that looked so similar to Richard that he was momentarily struck. He shouldn’t have been, knowing how often his mother had claimed he had had his father’s, Jonathon’s, expressions.

“Not all night.”

“Good. You were keeping Daddy safe too.”

“Yeah.” He wasn’t sure how to explain to Jason that his mother was not going to come to this apartment and hurt Richard. He wasn’t sure how to explain that he would try to stop her ever hurting the smaller man ever again.

He wasn’t sure how to suggest to Richard that his five year old son might benefit from having some outside authority to talk to, like maybe a counsellor, or psychologist, or whoever it was people went to see in these situations.

Richard was singing gently away as he prepared their food; Clark watched him silently, not knowing what else to say to the young boy.

\---

When Richard made his way over to the little table, he noticed the identical frowns on the occupants’ faces.

“Grub’s up.” He said, setting the plates down. Jason whooped, but obediently waited until he had a napkin tucked into his top before digging in. Clark thanked him softly, the sad expression not lifting.

“You ok?” he asked.

“Hm? Oh, yes. Thank you. I’m swell.”

Richard just smiled and nodded, though he didn’t feel like grinning at Clark’s choice of words. He was dreading what he was going to be doing later on in the day. He had to phone the psychiatrist and see if he could get a reference to a psych ward for Lois. He desperately didn’t want to do it, but he had to do something when their son didn’t feel safe in his own home.

Staying with Clark had made him realise how bad things were; especially, now that he thought about it, as this had been one of the first nights in a while that Jason hadn’t crawled into bed with him in the middle of the night, nor had he wet himself at some point in the night. It had been the first peaceful night in too long.

“What are we doing today, Dad?” Piped up the dear voice of Jason.

“Well, I was hoping Clark here would hang out with you for a while. I need to take mommy to the doctors’ again.”

“Does she have an appointment?” The serious nature of his son’s voice and his knowledge of how the doctors’ worked made Richard briefly despair about the carefree element of his son’s soul.

“Not yet. I’m going to ring up after breakfast and make an emergency one.”

“Ok.” Jason went back to eating, but Richard was strongly gripped by a desire to put his head in his hands and cry. He quickly stood up and headed into Clark’s bedroom, unable to stop the flow of tears as they began to fall. He dropped heavily to his knees and kept going until his arse hit the floor. He curled up as he sobbed.

“Don’t cry.” Whispered Clark and two strong arms wrapped around Richard, pulling him into a warm lap. “You aren’t alone. You don’t need to cry.”

The reassurances did nothing to stop his trembling and Clark just held him close and rocked him. It was excruciating. He felt so stressed, all of the time. He was constantly worried about Lois; she may not love him anymore, but he still loved her and to see her in such a state was upsetting. He worried about his son; he would have to see if the school had anyone Jason could talk to because he shouldn’t be seeing his mother in this way.

He had been worrying about how they were ever going to get back to normal, and had then realised that even if Lois got back to herself, nothing could ever be the same. It had also just occurred to him that they may have to move out of the house. He wouldn’t have Lois’ salary anymore to help with finances and he wasn’t sure _he_ could rest comfortably in that house, never mind Jason.

Everything was building up and he couldn’t see an end in sight. He had no idea how he could ever make it up to Clark for being a small ray of sunshine in this horrific storm of things. Over the rush of blood that was so loud in his head, over his gasps and whimpers, over Clark’s quiet mutterings, he could hear aeroplane noises and whooping coming from the kitchen. Richard took a deep breath and burrowed his blotchy, red face into his friend’s shoulder.

At least he knew his uncle wouldn’t fire him if he had to take a bunch of days off to get sorted out.


	4. Chapter 4

Clark held tightly to Jason’s hand as they waited to cross the road. It was quarter to nine in the morning and they were hurrying to get the child to school on time. Richard had followed through on the plans he had made that morning and had made an appointment with the doctors again to try and get a referral for Lois; he had gone to see her as soon as they had all finished their waffles.

As they crossed over and headed into the school, Clark looked down at Jason. He couldn’t quite believe how completely he loved the boy. He was a bright, cheerful child; it surprised him how confident Jason had been when Richard had told his son that he was going to try and get mommy to go to the hospital.

“You can do it.” The child had replied. “You can do anything.”

Clark had metaphorically melted at those words; such a strong belief in his dad. At least these events had not taken away all the innocence of Jason’s childhood. Richard had laughed; a weak, brittle sound and then he had held his boy close for a long hug.

Richard then trusted Clark to get his son safely though the Monday morning traffic and into school.

“Good morning, Miss Balantine.” Called out Jason as he hung his coat on a peg with a picture of a fish above it. 

“Good morning, Jason.” Replied a middle aged woman, warmly. “Go put your name by your picture.”

Clark smiled as he watched the child pluck a laminated card with ‘Jason White’ printed on it and walk over to a white board with numerous different pictures on; he pressed the card onto the Velcro beside the picture of a fish.

“Bye bye, Clark. I finish school after ten past three, if Daddy isn’t back from the hospital by then.”

“Ok, buddy. One of us will be here.” He pressed a kiss into the boy’s hair, before the child ran out to play with some wooden building blocks.

“Is Richard in hospital?” Asked the teacher, concern showing in her brown eyes.

“His mom is, hopefully.”

“Lois? What’s the matter?”

“She hit her head a few weeks ago; Richard is worried it’s affected her behaviour.” That was all he felt comfortable telling her; kind as the woman was she was not a close friend.

“I hope she feels better soon.”

Clark nodded and left. He had to go to work now, but he needed to talk to Perry once he got there.

\---

Richard was sat in the waiting room at the doctors, Lois at his side. She had only agreed to come because he had threatened to call the police and have Jason completely taken away from her if she didn’t do something.

He had tried to explain to the woman that their son was frightened of her; that he did not want them to go home. Jason had whispered into his ear that morning that Superman would keep Richard safe; it had broken Richard’s heart to hear that the boy wanted to get the hero to look after his father; that he was so anxious about Lois that he thought it was the best solution.

Telling the beautiful woman that her own child was scared of her had helped get her here. She mostly wanted to live with Jason at her side in a loving home. The problem came with the fact that she wanted Superman there, not Richard.

They had already sat through the consultation and were now waiting for the doctor to print out her referral for them; they were going to the psychiatric ward in the local hospital. Lois was still sat scribbling away in her notepad the main points of the article she had been writing; Richard hadn’t the heart to tell her it would likely not be printed anymore.

She kept writing and Richard stared blankly at the posters about getting flu jabs that covered the wall in front of him. He’d need to take her back to the house and pack a bag; clean clothes, including underwear, smart clothes (because Lois didn’t like to wear anything else), lazy day clothes and night wear. She would need a wash bag, with toothbrush, toothpaste, shower gel, a sponge, shampoo and conditioner. She wasn’t permitted a razor. She would need a hair brush. Her phone and her charger. He would have to ask if she was allowed a laptop.

He tried to imagine what Lois would do if she wasn’t busy writing articles.

He couldn’t. They had never taken a vacation that was longer than a week because she got bored. She had even been writing in her last week of pregnancy and took it up again less than five days after the birth. He genuinely couldn’t imagine her not writing; perhaps she would decide she was writing a report on the psychiatric ward of the hospital...

His phone vibrated against his leg, and he pulled it out of his pocket. Perry. Richard did not really want to talk to his uncle, but Clark must have mentioned where they were.

“Hey, Perry.”

“ _Where the hell are you, Richard?_ ”

“At the doctors, with Lois. Didn’t Clark say?”

“ _Why didn’t you just tell me?_ ”

“I’m sorry, Perry, but I had other things to worry about.”

“ _Worry?... Richard, what’s going on?_ ”

“I’m getting a referral for Lois... to the psychiatric ward.”

“ _Her mood swings haven’t cleared up._ ”

“No.” Richard stared at the woman he loved as she flipped over the page and continued to scribble furiously. “She is scaring Jason.”

“ _What happened?_ ”

“He saw her hitting me.” He liked how he got that out there; no quiver in his voice.

“ _Richard..._ ”

They were both silent for a moment. Richard could hear his uncle breathing heavily on the line; his own breathing had to be similar as he fought back tears.

“ _You need a place to stay?_ ”

“I’m ok. We stayed with Clark last night, but we could probably go home once she is in...” He kept back that he didn’t want to go back home; he wanted to sleep next to Clark again, to feel those strong arms wrap around him securely and box him off from the outside world.

“ _If you need someone to stay there with you, you call me._ ”

Richard smiled slightly; Perry was gruff, but he was a good man.

“I will.”

“ _See you later then, kid._ ”

“Bye.”

He hung up and sat himself back down beside Lois; she didn’t glance up at him, so he went back to reading the numerous posters that covered the walls.


	5. Chapter 5

Richard stared blankly at the open word document before him. All he had written so far was ‘Day Seven’. Keeping a journal had been a suggestion by one of the nurses in the hospital; she had mentioned it when Lois had been brought in because Richard had apparently been looking lost.

Lois had laughed harshly and told him he could be just like Bridget Jones and have some handsome man come take him away from her. Richard had flinched and not replied for two reasons; the first was that he had to remind himself it wasn’t Lois’ fault that she had lost all her compassion and all her tact. The second was that even a week later, he was still spending a lot of time with a handsome man.

He and Clark had hung out together every day of the week so far. The man couldn’t cook to save his life, but he happily ate anything Richard cooked with loud enthusiasm. He was also brilliant as a distraction for both Jason and Richard.

Richard was worried about how well Jason had adapted to his mother moving out. He and his son had moved back into the house, bringing Clark with them until late in the evening. It was possible he ought to contact someone for Jason to talk to; Clark had brought the idea up, explaining how Jason kept wishing that Superman would come and save his dad.

Superman…

That brought him to another curious point. Without Lois dismissing the idea, and without Clark keeping up his clumsy act, there was something about the man… He could remember that night the week before, when he had woken up beside Clark… Without his glasses, without him tripping and stumbling…

He remembered the time he had considered the idea out loud. Clark was about the same height as Superman… the same build… Clark had, at the time, turned and given them an awkward wave… Richard hadn’t really known the man then so he had been successfully blown off track.

Now though… Now he wasn’t so sure. There were an awful lot of similarities between the two. He felt strange even considering the idea, he sort of wanted to give himself a shake and forget the whole thing, but once the thought had incepted itself into his mind, it had clung there tenaciously. 

He stared at the white of his screen, interrupted only by the blinking cursor as a horrible idea occurred to him. If Clark was Superman, and Jason was Superman’s son… then Clark was Jason’s father… that could well be the whole reason Clark was over so often, why he cared so much.

He tried to dispel the thought because Superman loved Lois. Richard wouldn’t be able to cope with anything if Clark stepped in to care for Lois now that Richard was struggling. It was ridiculous… but Richard pressed his hands into his face and tried to keep his emotions bottled.

“Richard?” Clark popped his head in the office door, his expression relaxed and pleasant. 

“Hey, Clark.” Richard croaked slightly, before coughing and giving the man a sheepish grin.

“Lunch?”

“Absolutely.” He put his computer to sleep and jumped up. “Where do you wanna go?”

“Sally’s Sandwich Emporium?” Clark suggested. Richard grinned and nodded his head. They had only discovered the place yesterday, tucked away in a backstreet; however, it made a crab meat filling that Clark adored.

He followed the man out, staring up at the sky when they hit the street.

“The forecast said it’s meant to rain today.” He mused.

“Huh? Oh well, it is starting to look black.” Clark responded, cocking his head to the side. “Hopefully it won’t hit till this evening though.”

Richard nodded his head. He really didn’t want to be out in the rain at any point today.

“What should we have for dinner?”

“I’m not the one cooking.” Clark sent him a wry grin, clearly aware of his inability to make edible food. “Whatever you like.”

“I always make what we like. What do you want?”

“Do you know how to make chicken, ham and pea pie? Ma makes a wonderful pie, but I don’t get to see her very often.”

“I’ll have a go. I’ll give you a list of things to get from the shops when you go to pick Jason up.” Richard smiled softly.

Clark nodded and held open the door to Sally’s. He hadn’t been able to pick Jason up more than once. While Miss Balantine was a kind woman, her attention and her questions about Lois had left him feeling more than a little upset. Jason had told his teacher to leave his dad alone.

They placed their order and picked a seat away from the door. As Richard sat down, he may have kicked Clark a few times. It was difficult to avoid when the tables were little round things and your buddy had super long legs. He gave the large man an apologetic grin, but Clark didn’t seem to mind.

“How’s Lois doing?” Clark asked gently. It was the first time he had asked since the day she had gone in.

“She’s angry still. They phone me up to say if it is a good idea whether or not to visit.”

“You leave every evening though.” Clark said, a confused look permeating his face. He knew because he stayed to keep an eye on Jason while Richard was out.

“Two nights now I’ve just gone and sat outside.”

“Does she mind seeing you?”

“Every time.” She sat and scowled at him, accusation written all over her face. She had been allowed to bring her laptop, but there was no way she could connect to the internet. They were worried that with Superman all over the web, she may come across inadvertent triggers while browsing. She had articles she wanted to write and wanted the internet to manage them.

So far, she had given Richard homework twice, with information she wanted off him next time he visited. Yesterday though, she had given him a finished article with the request he hand it in to Perry.

He had.

Perry had looked through the whole thing, his aging face blank but still somehow sad. It wasn’t going to be printed, but Richard wasn’t going to tell the spitfire woman that when he went to visit later on.

He slowly pulled the cucumber out of his sandwich to munch on while he debated what he would say to her.

“If you ever want to talk, or not talk…” Clark didn’t complete his offer, but the meaning was clear.

“Why don’t you stay in the spare room tonight?” Richard suggested. He managed not to flinch when he realised how weak his voice sounded, but thankfully Clark just nodded his head, awkwardly pushed his glasses back up his face and turned his full attention back to his lunch.

\------

Visiting Lois had been hard. Richard didn’t cry, but it had been a close thing. When he got back home he headed up to his son’s bedroom, dropped down onto the floor beside his bed and wrapped his fingers around the blankets tightly, unwilling to wake his son but needing to be close.

“Richard?” A soft voice called from behind him.

Richard turned and gave Clark a gentle smile… at least, he tried. It felt a little brittle, so he dropped it quickly. The man turned his attention back to his son, the steady rise and fall of the blankets covering him and the peaceful look upon his face.

He could feel Clark’s presence behind him still, just inside the room. The man didn’t speak, the man didn’t move, or make any other indication that maybe he wanted to talk to Richard. He simply stood there; a silent comfort as Richard tried to settle his mind.

Eventually, the man pulled himself up off the floor and stepped wordlessly out of the room. Clark followed him, pulling the door shut with a quiet click. 

“Wanna watch a film?” Richard asked in a whisper, unwilling to totally break the comfortable silence.

“Oh, sure.” Clark smiled awkwardly, but padded down the stairs into the living room after him all the same.

“How about The Ring? It’s a long time since I last watched that one.”

“That’s fine.”

Richard got them both a beer and popped the DVD in the player before settling down on the opposite end of the sofa to the larger man.

“It’s a good film.” Richard grinned and took a sip of his drink.

\------

Clark sat as still as possible, his eyes unmoving from the screen which was now a solid blue colour. The film had finished.

Richard was a weight against his chest, the film having apparently lulled him to sleep. Clark’s fingers were probably bruising the smaller man’s skin with how tightly he was gripping him. Clark couldn’t bring himself to let go though.

The things people thought up…

It was ridiculous, he could cope with nearly any danger; why should a film scare him. And he was able to admit he was scared. He had never watched horror films, his mom always claiming they were a bad idea, and now he knew why. He just knew he’d be dreaming of the creepy girl crawling out of a television set.

“Richard?” he whispered, not really wanting to wake the other man. He didn’t stir.

Clark grinned softly, trying to let his nerves go and picked his friend up. He took them both upstairs and to the spare bedroom. 

“Goodnight.” He kissed the man’s head, stripped him down to his underwear and put him in the bed. “I’ll be back.”

It was time to go be Superman again. He was looking forward to it. It would clear his mind.

And it would nice to help people so simply. 

Helping Richard was far more difficult.


	6. Chapter 6

_A very overdue update. Sorry for taking so long._

\------

The clouds were dark and low in the sky as Richard walked along the riverbank. He was waiting for Jason to finish school, but had arrived far too early. He ought to be at work, checking over the articles he was planning to include for the weekend’s papers, but he was avoiding it. 

The man leaned heavily on the railings and stared at the dark, choppy water as it flowed along, the wind causing it to splash up against the concrete sides of the bank. He wanted to wish that he had never met Lois, the pain in his chest flared up every time he thought of her, which he did frequently. However, he couldn’t say that he did for one simple reason: Jason. 

He loved his son more than anything in the world, and now that Lois had been sectioned for over a month, the boy was looking more cheerful than he had for some time. It was startling how resilient children could be… though Richard wished they didn’t have to be. He wished that his child could be as carefree as he once had been. He wished his son didn’t flinch when he saw small, brown-haired women in pant-suits. He wished he had made better choices.

Why had he waited so long to take Lois to the psychiatrist? He felt like such an idiot. He had been with the woman for years, and yet he hadn’t thought to do something about her sudden change in behaviour sooner. There had been something wrong and he had ignored it, had just hoped it would go away. 

His legs buckled and he dropped to the pavement, tears welling up in his eyes. Was he really so blind? How had he not noticed? If he had done something then his son wouldn’t have to attend these Friday afternoon sessions with a child psychologist. He wouldn’t have to take Jason out of school to attend family counselling sessions with him on Tuesdays…. Family counselling that Lois wasn’t yet allowed to attend. 

The guilt was a sharp pain that lanced through his chest, and he curled in on himself, horribly aware he was still out in public but unable to move as the tears began to fall. 

No, he had to stop thinking like that. It wasn’t his fault she had been injured, that had been an accident… although, that could be blamed on him as well. If he had acted differently while they had been on that ship, then she might not have been injured. He had been too slow. If he hadn’t been quicker they wouldn’t have come so close to all dying on that sinking ship… Richard still had nightmares about that, but thankfully Jason’s overriding memory of that particular event was Superman rescuing them.

Maybe that was why he wanted Superman to come and save his dad now… maybe he was aware how useless Richard was. 

“Hey, man… Are you alright?” A young man crouched down beside the reporter, a concerned frown on his face.

“Y-yeah.” Richard sniffed and wiped his face, the misery that had curled in his gut still settled heavily in him. “Sorry.”

The man stood and helped pull Richard to his feet, before leaving with one last worried glance. Richard decided to use the distraction to his advantage and hurry into the school. He knew better than to stop and let himself think about things, or at least he ought to. 

“Daddy!” a voice squealed happily, and Richard’s reason for living threw himself at the man.

“Hey son, I thought I was early.”

“We started early today… cos… umm…” Jason’s faced scrunched up in an adorable expression that made his father smile. “Oh yeah, cos Simon was ill and he, um his mom had to come and get him and we had to go into Mr Hart’s office and it was cool cos-”

“Whoa! Just a moment, kiddo. You’re going too fast for me.” Richard pulled a face that made Jason giggle, before waving goodbye to Miss Balantine, who must have been watching his energetic young man once he had gotten out.

“Is Clark coming over?” Jason asked as he hung onto Richard’s arm on their way to the car.

“Clark does have things to do without us, you know?” Richard replied, the chuckle in his voice evidence of his improved mood; Jason made a great difference, after all.

“He does?” A confused expression spread across the boy’s face as he pulled the door open and scrambled into his booster seat.

“Nothing as fun as hanging out with us, I’ll grant you, but still…” Richard grinned at Jason as he shut the car door and climbed into his own seat.

“I think you should invite him over anyway, Dad. He keeps you safe.”

Jason turned his head to look out the window, unaware of the devastated look that was reappearing on his father’s face. As Richard pulled out, he sang jerkily along with the radio, trying to ignore the fact that his son still thought he needed protection.

\------

A week later, and the doctors phoned Richard to ask him to come in; although they assured him there was nothing to worry about, the reporter could feel his hands trembling as he drove over there. As they led him down through the corridors to the common room, his breath was coming in pants and he already felt like crying. 

He was really starting to hate it here. It made him feel horrifically guilty to sit and wait for Lois, knowing he was the reason she was here. However, he was here. She had asked him to come and he couldn’t say no to her.

“Richard.” The woman smiled at him and she was beautiful. It took his breath away to look at her.

She had her pant suit on, as the residents were allowed to wear their own clothing, so long as they were checked over in the morning by the doctors. It was a little baggy on her now, as Lois had lost what little weight she had, but even so, she looked good. Richard grinned, but stayed sitting down; he had been warned to avoid any sudden movements that she might interpret as aggression, especially as she used to attack him.

“Lois. You look wonderful.”

“Thanks. They let me on the internet now.” She sit down opposite him, her white teeth clearly visible due to the size of her smile.

“Really?”

“Mmm. They have blocked a ridiculous number of sites, but I can get on my email.”

“That’s great.”

“It is. And I need a favour. Willing to help a girl out?”

“Lois… You know that depends on the favour.” Richard replied, battling down a flinch as the smile dropped off her face. However, she recovered plastering a smile on her face again.

“I just need you to check something out for me. I was sending messages to the Eden Farming Community, you know, the ones who were recently hit by that tornado?”

“I think I know who you mean…”

“If you agree, I’ll forward my information to you. Anyway, apparently a businessman has bought some land out there and he has found oil on it.”

“Oil?” Richard raised his brow, hoping Lois wasn’t expecting him to go out and interview some business man.

“Yeah, oil. Anyway, I’d like you to go and interview the people living out there…”

“With what angle?”

“Well, I was thinking of a rags-to-riches type story. But… can you do something else for me? I’m sure I’ve heard something about this J. Wilbur Wolfingham. Will you find out what you can for me? I don’t remember what it is but…”

“I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise too much speed Lois. I hope you understand.”

“Yes, yes.” Her eyes drifted away from him and now that her request had been made it was clear she was done talking.

“Do you want to hear about Jason? He’s doing pretty good. He’s getting better at gym, you know?”

“That’s nice.” Lois replied, her voice faint as her attention roamed everywhere but on their conversation.

“I guess I’ll just… go then…” muttered Richard, standing up slowly.

“Don’t forget what I asked.”

“Good bye Lois. I love you.” He said, trying to catch her gaze.

“As soon as you can.” She stood up and walked over to the window.

Richard sighed and turned away. He shouldn’t be upset. At least she was talking to him now; in fact, that was one of the best conversations they had had since she had entered this place… and of course, it was about work; Lois’ one true love.

He was probably being unfair to her; after all, it had to be driving her mad, only being able to use the sites that had been approved by the administration. Lois had always enjoyed throwing herself into research, so to be stunted in this way had to be frustrating… 

It had to be wrong of him to feel so gratified that she was getting so annoyed by something, but he really didn’t care. Glancing at his watch, he saw it was only half eleven in the morning. As he headed back to his car, Richard pulled his phone out.

“ _Hello_?”

“Hey Clark. Going to lunch yet?”

“ _I… could be_?”

“I really want a Chinese. Go place our lunch orders? I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”

“ _You sound happy_.”

“I’ll tell you when I get there.” He laughed, feeling his spirits lift further just from hearing his friend’s voice.

“ _Sure thing_.”

“See ya.” Richard hung up and got into the car. He knew Clark was a bit weird when they talked about Lois, but she had been good today. He had seen a glimmer of his old fiancée in there and he wanted to tell someone.

Humming away to the music, he pulled out into the road and headed back into the city centre.


End file.
